There is a need in the art for fire and smoke resistant panels. This need is especially acute on naval ships. In recent years it has been determined that the effects of smoke and toxic gases is one of the leading causes of injury and death resulting from fires Thus, it will be apparent that construction materials such as joiner, or non-structural, bulkheads on naval vessels are needed which produce virtually no toxic gases and exhibit low smoke. Additionally, it will be apparent that there is also a need for construction materials which do not themselves significantly help to spread flames and which have low heat transfer coefficients. With a low heat transfer coefficient, one side of a panel will not become dangerously hot notwithstanding exposure of the alternate side to high flame temperatures. Finally, there is a need in the art that these materials exhibit very low burn-through in order to minimize spreading the fire Aluminum construction materials are unsuitable for the above purposes Not only can aluminum burn but it also obviously loses its structural integrity. Thus it causes further conflagration problems. Recently a composite construction has been evaluated which includes a panel having glass reinforced skins over a high strength polymeric honeycomb structure First of all the honeycomb structure has proved not to be suitable. During a fire, the entrapped air in the hollow honeycomb structure expands causing a pressure build-up. This pressure build-up has, in turn, resulted in delamination of the externally disposed skins Additionally, such structures have not exhibit the desired smoke resistance, fire spread resistance, and burn-through resistance.
In accordance with this invention, the foregoing need in the art is now satisfied. The present invention provides for a panel structure which has outstanding fire-resistant qualities. It is a low smoke emitting panel. It does not release toxic gases, possesses a low heat transfer coefficient and shows remarkable resistance to "burn-through".